The Synchronicity War Part 4 (4 page)

If the time machine could be made small
enough to leave room in Dreadnought's hangar bay for at least one cargo
shuttle, then a UFC and some industrial robots could be loaded onto the ship.
That would open up the possibility of traveling several years back in time,
locating an uninhabited star system with lots of natural resources, and using
the UFC to eventually build a huge fleet of raiders. Those raiders would be
ready in time to arrive in Earth orbit just prior to the arrival of the enemy
fleet. Their added firepower, carefully aimed, would decimate the enemy fleet
before it could burn through Dreadnought's armor. Casanova and Iceman would be
saved, with minimal impact on the timeline up to that point. After the battle,
the raiders would defend the colonies against the second fleet and then launch
a massive strike against the Sogas’ home world to destroy their military
infrastructure. The Sogas would then be at the mercy of the Insectoids, and
Space Force could prepare for the arrival of the insectoid mothership. It was
all very neat and tidy, except for one thing. Dreadnought wasn't big enough to
carry the time machine, as it was currently conceptualized, plus the UFC, cargo
shuttle and all the other necessary equipment to start building the raider
fleet. There were two possible solutions to the problem, neither one of which
was simple or easy. Dreadnought could be modified to have more room. It would have
to be cut almost in half and a new section of hull inserted. Stripping the
armor off would help too, since the size of the time machine depended on the
mass of the ship, and a lot of Dreadnought's mass was in its armor. The other
possibility was to design and build a brand new ship from scratch specifically
to hold the time machine and the cargo. It would have to be BIG. Both options
would take months and a lot of human assistance which they might not want or be
able to give. 

The war wasn't going to stop for six months
or more while the humans got a large enough ship ready. The Old Man had already
given the go ahead to start ramping up production of raiders, and that would
take a lot of resources away from other projects. The whole Dreadnought/time
machine project was so large and so complicated that unless it was given top
priority, it could take years to complete. So much could happen in that time to
derail the plan. Somehow she had to find a way to get it done as fast as
possible.

                                                       *
* *

It was daylight when Shiloh opened his
eyes. A quick glance showed him that Kelly was no longer in the bed or the
room, but the sound from the bathroom told him she was in the shower. He
checked the time and grinned when he saw that it was almost noon. He felt
rested and his head was clear of the groggy haze. He let his mind go back to
the brief but very intense sex that he and Kelly had enjoyed after Howard's
call. He hadn't had any trouble getting back to sleep afterwards.
Funny how
that worked,
he thought. As he sat up, the scene in front of him faded from
view. For a brief moment he wondered if he was fainting again, but when he saw
an image of Howard sitting behind his desk, Shiloh realized he was having another
vision.

"We finally found that homeless man
living in the maintenance shafts under the main commercial block,” Howard said.
“He had a piece of the bio-weapon device in his possession. He's in quarantine
now, as is the device, and his hideout has been decontaminated and sealed off
for good measure. All the other fragments from the bombardment in Colorado
Springs and the other impacted cities have been recovered. I think we have a
good chance of coming out of this alive and whole. We now know what happened at
all our colonies. The combination of Blackjack's vision and your idea for using
laser-armed fighters as ABM defense was almost 100% successful. New Paris was
the only colony where the bio-weapon actually hit the ground. Plans are
underway to evacuate those colonists to other colonies."

The vision faded and Shiloh was back in
Kelly's bedroom. He realized he was holding his breath and let it out. As
visions went, that one was chock full of information. He wondered about
Blackjack's vision. It had to have something to do with the impending attack on
the colonies.

Shiloh jumped out of bed and walked quickly
to the bathroom door. He heard the shower turn off when he entered. He cleared
his throat to let Kelly know he was there.

"Ah, you're awake. How do you
feel?" asked Kelly.

"I feel good. I've just had another
vision, Amanda. As soon as I have a shower, I want us to go to see Howard. I
think you should call him. Let him know we'll be there soon and that I've had
another vision." Shiloh couldn't help grinning as he watched Kelly slide
back the shower door and step out.
She’s a damn fine-looking woman
. He
heard a tiny voice in the back of his head say,
‘And there seems to be a
glow radiating from her too!’

Kelly saw his expression and grinned back at
him. "You're looking pretty good yourself, Admiral Victor Shiloh."

Her response was not what Shiloh had
expected. He laughed and couldn't help wondering if she had read his mind.

"Thank you. I'm glad you think so. I
wish we had time to pursue this conversation further, but duty calls."

As he stepped into the shower, she said,
"A shower and then a visit to The Old Man. I didn't hear the word
breakfast mentioned anywhere in there. Aren't you hungry? I sure as hell
am."

"Telling Howard about my vision won't
take long. I feel guilty enough sleeping in this late. We'll eat after we brief
him."

"Okay," said Kelly.
But I'm
going to suggest that we brief him and have something to eat at the same time,
she
thought.

Howard checked the time again. It was now
15 minutes since Cmdr. Kelly had called to say that Shiloh had just received
another vision and that both of them would be arriving soon to brief him on it.
Just as he was about to query the building security system to find out if
Shiloh was in the building yet, his implant activated.

"Blackjack to CSO."

Howard was startled by the identity of the
caller. He had only had one conversation with Blackjack. "Go ahead,
Blackjack."

"Admiral, I've just received a highly
detailed vision concerning the disposition and timing of enemy attacks on our
colonies. I'm transmitting the information to you now. You should see it on
your office screen momentarily."

Howard watched a stream of numerical data
scroll down his screen. "What does it mean, Blackjack?"

"It is precise coordinates and time
for the emergence for each of the six enemy ships that attack each colony. This
level of detail is only possible if we have recon drones in place ahead of
time."

Howard was about to reply when his office
door opened and his Aide stepped into view. "What is it, Lieutenant?"
asked Howard.

"You asked to be notified when Admiral
Shiloh and Commander Kelly arrived, Sir," said the Aide.

What incredible timing,
thought Howard. "Send them in," he said.

As Shiloh and Kelly walked in, Howard said,
"Blackjack, Admiral Shiloh and Commander Kelly have just entered the room.
I believe that Admiral Shiloh has had a vision of his own within the last 45
minutes or so. I'd like you to switch this call to my desk speaker so that all
of us can hear you and vice versa." As he talked he pointed to the wall
screen where Blackjack's data was on display.

It took less than a second for Blackjack's
voice to be heard from the speaker. "Hello CAG and Commander Kelly,"
said Blackjack.

Before Shiloh or Kelly could respond,
Howard said, "Never mind the pleasantries. Blackjack has had a vision of
his own with precise recon drone data for the attack on our colonies. I can't
believe that the Sogas are going to split up their fleet. There has to be
something we can do to take advantage of that tactical mistake. Can your vision
help us there, Admiral?"

Shiloh took a few seconds to look at the
data on the screen. He was able to tell that each colony would be attacked by
only six enemy ships. Now everything fell into place. Still looking at the
screen, Shiloh said, "Yes it can, Sir." He went on to relate his
vision to Howard as accurately as possible. With that out of the way, he said,
"I understand what the phrase about using laser-armed fighters for ABM
defense means now that we have this recon data. If we send fighters armed with
modular lasers to our colonies and they take up a position over the colony
settlements at very low altitude, they should have enough time to use their
lasers to burn the bio-weapon shells to slag before they hit the ground, with
the one exception of New Paris. As long as those colonists have evacuated the
settlement ahead of time, they should be okay. Blackjack, can our jump-capable
fighters reach all our remaining colonies before the enemy arrives?"

"Affirmative, CAG. And not only the
fighters, but the sentry frigates too."

Howard and Shiloh looked at each other in
puzzlement. "Why would we need to send sentry frigates too?" asked
Howard.

"We need to be able to deploy recon
drones in order to capture this data. Fighters armed with modular lasers can't
carry any drones. Therefore something else has to deploy the recon drones, and
the quickest and easiest way to do that is with sentry frigates. And not only
can they carry the recon drones, they can also carry attack drones that can be
precisely aimed with this targeting data. We have enough Mark 1s to destroy
this entire enemy fleet, however the window of opportunity to get sentry
frigates to three of the colonies closest to the enemy fleet is very short.
There won't be time to load both drone types on board before they have to
leave. That means that a small number of enemy ships will escape destruction.
In order to make this plan work, fighters and frigates have to be set in motion
immediately. I can issue the necessary orders on your behalf as soon as your
give the word, Admiral."

Howard didn't hesitate more than a second.
"You have authorization to issue those orders, Blackjack. I'll notify Ops.
Standby." He paused and then said, "Intercom...Operations."

"Operations here, Admiral. What can we
do for you, Sir?"

"Blackjack is in the process of
communicating orders for fighters and sentry frigates. He is acting on my
behalf, and I want his orders to be carried out as quickly as possible. Any
questions Commander?"

"No questions, Sir. We'll see to it
that his orders are executed with dispatch."

"Very good. That's all for now. Howard
clear. Blackjack, are you still there?"

"Still here, Admiral. The orders have
been sent. Does anyone have any questions for me?"

Shiloh looked at Howard who shook his head.
A quick glance a Kelly got the same response. "Will Valkyrie have time to
transfer to a fighter or sentry frigate?" Shiloh asked. The response was
immediate.

"She would have time, but she is
asking to remain on board Dreadnought, CAG."

Shiloh wondered why she would pass up a
chance to kill some Sogas ships.
What better way to avenge Casanova, but if
that's what she wants, then so be it.
"As long as we have enough other
AIs to do the job, she can stay on board Dreadnought."

"We'll have enough AI pilots for the
fighters and sentry frigates, CAG. Valkyrie wants to remain on board
Dreadnought in order to oversee the installation of the time machine.

"That decision hasn't been made
yet," said Howard in a slightly annoyed tone.

Shiloh sighed and said, "I'll talk to
her, Admiral."

Howard nodded. "Fine. Now if you'll
all excuse me, I have to get the decontamination teams to hunt for a man who
lives underground. Blackjack, I do have one last question for you before I sign
off," said Howard as Shiloh and Kelly left his office. "If some of
the enemy ships are going to escape because we couldn't get frigates armed and
on station in time, why weren't yours and Shiloh's visions received
earlier?"

"The nature of the two sets of
information required that The CAG receive the image of your narrative. He
couldn't receive it any earlier than he did because he was asleep until just a
few seconds before the vision, Admiral. Without his contribution, my
information by itself wouldn't have suggested the proper course of
action."